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ETOA Visa Survey Launched Online
ETOA’s survey of operators and agents on their experiences of visa processing in various origin markets has been launched online in conjunction with Consumerdate. This comes in response to new procedures for Schengen visas put in place on the 5th April this year designed to streamline visa processing. The survey also asks for feedback regarding UK and Ireland visas, which fall outside of the Schengen area. The results will be published and analysed at a special event in Brussels in October alongside a session on the opportunities from emerging origin markets. The survey will offer a first view of how these procedures are working within a broad range of origin countries.
“Visas are a major issue for our members and if handled badly hurt Europe’s competitiveness”, said Nick Greenfield, ETOA’s Head of Tour Operator Relations. “The latest figures on European tourism in the UNWTO’s Tourism Barometer do not make pretty reading. Alone among continents, we have not bounced back in the first four months of this year from the decline in 2009 and while UNWTO notes the effects of bad weather, the ash cloud and British Airways strikes, they also choose to highlight the increasing damage that strict visa regimes are having on prospering markets. I am pleased to say that both the European Commission and Parliament are interested in our project and we feel that we can help in improving the situation. With this in mind we would ask any Tour Operator or Travel Agent affected to go online and complete our survey, so we can present the most complete picture possible in the autumn.’
The survey takes a maximum of 15 minutes to complete and can be found at:
www.consumerdatasurveys.com/etoa
For further information on the EU’s new handbook on Schengen visas go to:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/fsj/freetravel/visa/docs/c_2010_1620_en.pdf
Rome Crackdown on ‘Unauthorised’ Guides
ETOA has seen a number of cases recently of guides travelling with groups being stopped in Rome. This comes on the back of a concerted campaign by the authorities this year to crack down on what they see as ‘unauthorised’ guides. ETOA has long championed freedom of speech for all guides and has argued that cities such as Rome would do better concentrating on the ensuring the quality of their local guides rather than obstructing people from speaking in the streets and piazzas. Reports suggest that small groups in particular have been targeted, a tactic in the past that has led to a lady being questioned at the Trevi Fountain for delivering ‘cultural information’. It later turned out she was talking to her extended family who were visiting her on holiday.
ETOA is currently part of a working committee in Brussels looking at the implementation of the Provision of Services Directive across Europe, which covers professions such as guiding. We are also pursuing cases with our legal experts in Italy. If you have experienced problems, or even received fines, then please contact
ngreenfield@etoa.org
ETOA online training course goes live
ETOA is now delighted to launch its first online training course as part of its partnership with leading training provider Online Travel Training (OTT). The first modules released give an overview of the association, its membership, interests and activities. The course can be viewed at
http://www.onlinetraveltraining.co.uk/etoa.aspx.
“We are delighted to launch our first online training course as part of our partnership with Online Travel Training,” said Adam Buckmaster, Head of Online Strategy. “This will introduce ETOA to a new audience and at the same time gives our members the chance to consolidate their own knowledge of their association. This is one of several enhancements to our online offering, with our new look website launching later this year and a new registration system for our events.”
OTT is the leading product e-learning provider for the travel industry, attracting over 25,000 registered users in just 2 years. OTT’s unique and easy-to-use training platform has enabled many leading travel companies to create and/or market product training to a huge travel audience. Clients include: Virgin Atlantic, Worlds of Discovery, Attraction World, Bourne Leisure & Qatar Airways. OTT have also been chosen to provide white-label training solutions for Advantage, TTG, GTMC, Lufthansa City Centre and are the exclusive training provider for ANTOR.
New ETOA courses will follow over the coming months, including guidelines for contractors and other operational staff, and cementing ETOA’s position as a source of knowledge and guidelines for the travel industry.
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